House of Memories
by HiddenHikariAppend
Summary: They've won the game and made a new world. Now that Dave finally has some time to just chill with his bros...a post it note turns his perfect world upside down. Someone else seems to have survived and made it to this new world and he has a lot of apologizing to do. / I wanted to write a short one chapter pwp but then it took on a life of its own? / Bro/Dave, nsfw, abuse talk
1. Chapter 1

You look down beneath you and he looks different than you had ever imagined. His hat has fallen off and his shades are disheveled. The sword sticking through his shoulder is pinning him down and there's blood pouring from the wound.

Your name is Dave Strider and your brother is dead.

Suddenly, you hear a cough. It's faint but you drop to your knees. You put a hand to his neck but can't feel a pulse. He coughs again and a drop of blood lands on your face. "Bro!"" you shout a couple times, your voice cracking and you know the look he'd be giving you right now if he could hear you. "Bro, can you hear me?"

Another cough, louder and sputtering this time. You turn to your friends, "He's still alive!" you shout and they look confused. "i'm' fucking serious! What do I do!?" you look at the sword and can't decide whether it's best to remove it or not.

You grip it with one hand when you feel a presence behind you. The mail lady that was always with the mayor placed a hand on your shoulder. You stood back as she lifted him off the ground, leaving the sword in. His shades fell off and you grabbed them before standing. You watched his eyes open very, very slowly. He parted his lips and spoke.

"I'm sorry…"

The mail lady stared at you and somehow you knew she wanted to help. She turned and carried him away, you squeezed his shades in your hand, and you never saw him again.

"You can't just fucking jump away the whole time!"

"Fuck you that's the pink fuckers best move!"

"No like seriously hit me or something - fuck - Karkat!"

You sighed as your character was shot off the screen and and couldn't bare to look at Karkat's face of joy as the little Kirby danced on the screen under a winner banner.

The new world you had created was incredible. You played video games whenever you want, apple juice was basically free when you're a god, and all your friends had survived. It a great life you lived. One of pure and simple joys. Nothing to worry about. Just days full of goofing off with your friends and - mail?

You looked at the door to the house you shared with John and Karkat, and saw an envelope slip underneath. You put down the controller and made your way over to door. You picked up the envelope and ripped it open. Inside was just a post it note. It read: "He's alive."

"What kinda cryptic shit…?" You turned to Karkat and waved the note at him, "You know what this means?"

"Fuck no. Why would I know what it means, I don't know the answer to every fucking mystical sticky note that slides into our hive, Dave!"

"All I needed was a 'no.'" you grumble to yourself and you drop the papers onto the table. "Alright, game time, and you can't fucking use Kirby this time unless you actually fight."

Karkat ignored you as he chose Kirby and clicked start. You sighed as you were just about to choose when another envelope fluttered into the room. You got up to get it and could hear Karkat yelling about something. You opened it to find another a post it note. This one had an address. A familiar one. One you knew way too well. "I'll be back," you tossed over your shoulder at Karkat and ignored his protests as you left.

By now you were old enough to drive, but you were still pretty fond of flying. You stuffed the note into your pocket and jumped into the air.

The address was familiar but not one you knew how to get to, especially not in this new universe. You truthfully didn't know it even existed here. You flew for about an hour and boy were your arms tired when you finally landed. ((Thats a joke))

You stared up at the apartment building in front of you. You had almost forgotten. What it looked like without lava surrounding it.

You found the stares and began to climb before remembering flying was still a thing. You shot up the stairs and stopped in front of a very familiar door. It was strange that even on a new planet that apartment complex smelled the same the door to your old place still had the same chipped paint on the door and weird stains in the hall. You almost went to reach for your keys when you remembered you lost those forever ago.

You looked down at a familiar, empty flower pot and lifted it to retrieve the key that was always there. It felt nostalgic.

Suddenly, as you slid the key in, you felt your body brace for impact. Your instincts went into hyperdrive and you actually tried to reach for your trusty sword. You didn't have any need to carry it these days so you just unlocked the door and slid inside very slowly.

You planted your back against the wall so every square inch was in view and you were ready for the oncoming strife. That's when you noticed the room was completely empty. You let your guard down and felt silly. "Hello?" you called, unsure why you took the advice of a mystery persons sticky note. You took a step further inside when you saw a figure in the hallway.

"It's you…!" you said as you looked at the smiling mail lady. She turned and took a step back into the hallway. You quickly followed her. "Did you want me here?" she said nothing and continued down the hall. "Yo, are you listening?" she stopped at a doorway and gestured you inside.

You stepped inside what used to be your brothers room. It didn't look anything like that now though. There was a hospital bed and lots of monitors and equipment. the blankets on the bed were wrinkled as if someone had just gotten up. "What is this? Whats going on?" You stared at her before another figure caught your eye. You slowly turned to look and immediately recognized the large body. Even with the blue gown on and bedhead and shade-less face there could be no doubt.

"Bro?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Bro?" you asked quietly, barely more than a whisper.

The man before you looked you up and down, face expressionless, and took a sip of some orange soda.

"Don't just fucking ignore me!" you shouted, frustrated.

Then, he finally spoke. "Why are you here?" You scrambled for words before he moved past you and took a seat on the hospital bed. "Answer me."

"B-because...I don't know...I didn't know you would be here so I just-"

"Then get out."

You stood still and silence floated around you. Part of you was ready to abscond right out of there but you took a deep breath. You were an adult now. He didn't scare you anymore. "No."

He scoffed. "What a little rebel. You gonna hold your breath too?"

You gritted your teeth.

"I remember what you said."

Bro stared at you blankly.

"When you got stabbed. You apologized."

Bro looked away from you, fixing his eyes on the window despite the curtains being drawn.

"I wanted to say that I don't forgive you. I can't. I never will."

You turned around and put your hand on the door frame as you started to leave the room. When you heard him speak again. "I meant it, ya know." You froze. "I'm sorry."

You ignored him and walked straight out of the apartment and started your flight home.

"Who the fuck does he think he is?" You began to rant to yourself. "I can't believe him. As if he can just show up out of fuckin no where an expect me to forgive him? After all he fuckin did to me? I still...I still jump when Jane's dad fusses..I just can't deal with fuckin parental figures anymore! They so much as raise their fucking voice but half of a goddamned decibel and I'm nearly into tears. It ain't fuckin fair." You continued on and on for a while, flying over the scenery. You wish you could admire it but the tears were coming almost full force.

"Even now! Even now I'm pissed at myself for fucking crying and why? Why? Because of his bullshit "Striders don't cry" fucking nonsense." You reached into your pocket and pulled out the sticky note. You ripped it up into tiny pieces and let it fall through the air behind you and you found your way back to home.

You walked right past Karkat and John who were deep in concentration in a guitar hero battle. You heard Karkat let out a trail of fancy cuss words as you locked yourself in your room.

As much as you hated it, you found yourself lying on your back staring at your ceiling. The only thing on your mind was him.

You recalled the way, when you were younger and still in school, you had been called to the office for being covered in cuts and bruises. You had lied. No one had ever told you to lie, but you knew how serious the strife session would be if they called Bro down to the school.

You hated that you constantly tried to make it okay. You tried to tell yourself it practice, he was training you, preparing you for the game. But you knew that couldn't be true. He had no way of predicting the game. He wasn't helping you - he was just an asshole.

At the same time, you could recall him tossing you a juice box and cracking open a pizza box and popping in some blockbuster movie. You always loved those nights. Sometimes you'd fall asleep and wake up in your bed under the covers. Other times he'd wake you and fuss at you for missing the best parts and you'd rewatch a couple scenes and laugh all night.

There was one memory that always stuck out to you. You couldn't have been more than six years old. You remember sitting at the hardly ever used dinner table early in the morning. A colorful, pointed hat sat upon your head.

Bro had his back to you at the stove when you heard him yelp and you jumped. He gripped at his hand for a moment before he grabbed the pan and pulled it over to the garbage can. He scraped off a burnt pancake and basically threw the pan into the sink. The water hit the hear a puff of steam flew up. Bro gripped the edge of the counter and hung his head down.

The room grew silent except for the sizzle of the pan. As that faded out it was replaced by something you never heard before. It sounded like sniffling, but that can't be right, because it was coming from Bro.

You hopped out of your chair and padded over to him. You started to reach for his shirt but pulled back. You gave him a tiny punch in the side. "Dad, Striders don't cry! Remember?"

You heard him take a big breath before turning to face you. His cheeks were red when he squatted down in front of you. " That's right lil man." He stared at you for a moment before he dropped his head. "But hey, don't call me dad, aight?"

You tilted your head to the side. "Why not? Ain't you my dad?"

Bro stood back up and put you back in your chair. He crossed his arms and couldn't look at you as he spoke. "Kid, I...man, I didn't wanna do this on your birthday, but you're old enough to know. I ain't your dad. I don't know whose kid you are. I-I just found you. Took ya in. I thought we could be like brothers ya know?"

"Brothers?" you asked, your interest piqued.

"Yeah, ya know, bros."

You didn't really understand what he was saying. But from you'd gathered at school, parents sucked and they didn't do the cool things bro did. You smiled and held out a little fist. "Bros!"

You watched his mouth slowly crack almost into a smile and he reached his fust for yours. "Bro-"

You quickly flattened your hand against his, "Turkey!"

You could practically feel him roll his eyes under his shades as he grabbed you in a headlock and rubbed his fist against your head. "You little shit!"

You giggled but it eventually hurt. That afternoon was the first time you strifed and the first time you were completely terrified of him.

Your name is Bro Strider and boy did you fuck up.

You knew it was a horrible idea to take in this kid but you went through all the trouble of getting him back into the system you might as well adopt him and see it through.

You named him Dave. You didn't have any reason or rhyme to it, it was just the first name to come to your head. The kid had nothing on him. No paperwork or prints or anything. Granted, he couldn't have been more than a year old when you found him. You never understood how he had survived until years later when he had a hand in bringing about the apocalypse.

He grew up like other kids for the most part. You were distant. You didn't know how to interact with other people especially not this tiny fucking baby. You always thought he was so cool though. You loved to strapping him into his carseat and turning up some beats. Most kids would dance and laugh to music but not Dave. He'd bob his head, maybe swing his legs, face blank like yours as the road stretched on front of you.

You cherished those days. You wished they'd never ended.

Eventually, however, they did.

He started school and before you knew it he'd put in headphones before you were even in the car.

You knew that was your fault though.

The first day that kid held a sword in his hands you knew he'd be great. He could kickass with a little work. And you pushed him. Hard.

You knew that wasn't the whole story though. You enjoyed watching him fall and standing over him. You liked to win and you always did with him. You didn't care of he went to school beat up. It was his fault for not fighting harder. Besides, that's how you were raised too.

If you want to survive in this world, you have to be tough and Striders never cry. That's what you've been telling the kid since the start. If you don't have a thick skin, you'll never make it.

But that was then.

Dave was all grown up.

He had saved the world, become a hero, while you did, what, sat in a hospital bed recovering? For how long? Pathetic, just pathetic. You should've been out there helping him and fighting along side him.

Now, though, he doesn't seem to want anything to do with you, rightfully so.

That was all you could think about back then, how angry you were at yourself for hurting him. While we played that game you had gone off on your own. It started off as a way to clear your head but mostly you were trying to help him in anyway you knew how.

So you fought and fought and fought, and ultimately lost. You thought that apology would be your last words but you were given another chance. A way to make things right.

You knew you could never erase the past or correct the you had done, and you knew he didn't owe you any forgiveness, but you were a Strider dammit and you were going to do everything you could to change the future.


	3. Chapter 3

Who the FUCK was waking you up before 1 pm?

You groggily rolled over and pulled the pillow over your head in an effort to block out the noise but the knocking persisted. You scratched your ass and yanked yourself out of bed. You wandered through the hall and opened the door. "Whatever you're selling, we don't-"

"Hey kid."

You ground your teeth together. "What are you doing here?"

Bro gave you a big smile, " I just thought...we could hang out or something? Old times, lil bro!"

You scoffed. "What, are we gonna toss the ol' pigskin back and forth? Watch Toy Story? Go to the county fair?"

Bro's smile faltered slightly and you saw his hand clench around a couple slips of paper. "I just want to make it up to you...I told you I'm sorr-"

"Jesus Christ, Bro, can you stop that?"

"What can I do to make things okay between us again?" Bro almost sounded like he was pleading at this point. It kind of sent a thrill through your body. The idea that you held his emotions in the palm of your hand was exhilarating.

You were silent and took a deep breath. "What's in your hand?"

He was silent as well. "Movie tickets…"

You fought the need to roll your eyes. "Genre?"

"Comedy," he said, his lips slightly pulling back up.

"Is Adam Sandler in it?"

"Nope."

You sighed again as you reached beside you and plunked your jacket off the hook on the wall. " I want a large popcorn - I call how much butter there is - and a large drink. My choice again."

Bro smiled again as you pushed past him before you turned back to face him again. "Wait, is Jack Black in it?"

"Of course."

"Hell yeah," you locked the door behind you and took the lead. Standing beside him again was an odd feeling. You stayed on your guard in case he flash stepped like he used to and you wouldn't let him walk completely behind you. You looked around for his trusty truck but of course it wasn't there.

You shrugged and hopped into the air and looked down at him.

"Kid. I can't fly."

"I ain't a kid no more," you hissed as you floated a little lower. "Grab on."

Even though he very gently put his hands onto your shoulders, you flinched. As you started to float higher, he gripped tighter, dangling from your back. "Fuck, Bro, that hurts!" you complained and he shimmied further up your body til his arms were around your throat. He tried to keep from choking you and eventually he was just getting a piggy back ride through the sky.

You considered dropping him at one point when he remarked how surprised he was that someone as scrawny as you could even carry him. You reminded him his life was literally in your hands right now and he shut up. You were surprised, he had never acted like this before.

"So," you finally asked after flying in silence for a while, "what exactly do you want out of this?"

Bro looked confused, "Want? I don't know...I just want you to not hate me?"

"Fat chance."

It went silent again and he shuffled on your back.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Why are you actually goin' through with this?"

It was silent again.

"I guess...um...I don't want to hate you either."

You could feel his grip tighten on you, like he was trying to hug you but just wasn't very accustomed to it yet.

"That don't mean I'll like you or we'll be bros and hang out. I'm doing this for me. But..." You corrected and the silence befell you both again.

"But…?"

"Nothing. There's the theater."

You stuck the landing as you let go of your lil bro and dropped to the ground. It was pretty empty. You wondered how they stayed in business without like...currency. You shrugged and pulled the tickets from your pocket. You bought some snacks and Dave really didn't hold back. You were sure he knew as well as you did that there was no way you could both eat this much. The popcorn had so much butter you could barely stand it. Dave was slightly upset they didn't have apple juice in the tap and he had to just get a bunch of juice boxes. He seemed a bit less irritated when you poured them all into a cup and mixed in a little vodka from the flask in your pocket. Not too much, he had to fly you home after all. You didn't know if there were still laws and police but even then flying while drunk sounded like a very bad plan.

You found your seats and Dave broke open some of his candy before the first trailer was over. You knew you'd be sent on another snack run at the best part. At least pretty much everything is free when your little brother is a god. Also the concessions is run by a tiny lizard thing that just blows bubbles at you when you try to give it cash.

You watched Dave eat away as if it's been years since he's had junk food. You knew that wasn't true by the amount of pizza boxes you saw stacked on top of the trashcan in his new place. It was a nice little house, better than anything you could have afforded for them. If you had the chance to do things over, you knew it would've gone differently.

You can't focus on the past though, you've gotta make the best of the here and now, and if that means laughing at Jack Black purely because Dave loves the guy, then so be it.

The movie was hilarious, as you have come to expect from the big JB. Your bro had supplied maximum snackage and with the whole theater to yourself you could choose the best seats in the house. You had to admit it was pretty nice to do that even with Bro. It truly felt like old times again.

Once you exited the theater, you started the flight back to his apartment - your old apartment. You chatted nonchalantly about the movie along the way.

"So," Bro asked as he dropped onto his floor, "that's that then?"

You shrugged.

He sighed. "Well. Thanks Dave. See ya." he turned to his door and began to reach for the spare key. You realized you still had it in your pocket from the day before.

"Bro," you called. He turned to face you and you tossed him the key. He caught it and you locked eyes with him. That's when you noticed something. "Where's your shades?"

Bro shrugged. "Haven't seen em since I woke up."

You remembered that day. You had picked them up as a keepsake. But what had you done with them? There was a good chance you chucked them clean off the meteor into paradox space. You thought for a moment and Bro started to unlock his door and move inside.

"I have them," you shouted at him. He turned back and raised an eyebrow. "I mean...somewhere..I'll bring them by if I find them."

He shrugged. "Keep em if you want."

You shook your head, "They look better on you." Bro dropped his gaze and the two of you were silent. "You can...come over and help me look."

Bro smiled slightly as he let himself into his apartment. He waved at you and you waved back before flying home.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dude, when's the last time you cleaned under this bed?"

"I doubt you have any room to fuckin talk."

You watched Bro pull out piles and piles of dirty clothes from under your bed. "What kinda pjs are these?"

"That's my god jammies."

Bro snickered and you tossed a dirty shirt at his face. He pulled boxes from beneath your bed and started rummaging through them. You had your arms crossed as you stared at your closet. You yanked a big duffle bag off the top shelf and almost crumbled beneath it, luckily Bro didn't see your near death experience. you unzipped it to find a bunch of shitty swords. _That's where I put them!_ You thought as you picked a couple up, each more bent and dull than the first. You riffled through it, careful of what blades were actually sharp, before you found something black at the bottom.

You managed to get the pointed shades out of the bag without scratching them too badly. "Bro," you called and before hr even looked up you tossed thek at him. They landed in his lap and he smiled before putting them on.

Now that's your Bro if you ever saw him.

He shoved all your junk back under your bed and you kicked the swords into the closet. He smirked, "You kept my swords?"

You shrugged, "They're mostly shit." He agreed and the room grew silent. You stared at your feet. "You can have them back."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I don't like the looks of em."

"Why?"

You three up your arms and sat on your bed, "I don't know, Bro, no way it could have anything to fucking do with you attacking me with them all through my childhood! No way, no goddamned way that's it!"

Bro took a breath. "I should've never started that with you."

"You're damn right!"

"you we're good though. I've bet you've gotten even better."

You rolled your eyes under your shades, "I'm not fucking strifing with you again. Ever."

He shook his head and sat on the other side of the bed. "That ain't what I mean. I just mean...like...I'm proud of you. You're a man now, more than I ever fucking was. You're a hero, Dave."

You grumbled something under your breath.

"I mean it. Look at this place you've created. Look at all the good shit you've done. You're fucking incredible, squirt."

You shrugged, "I mean...I guess."

Bro shook his head, "Don't give me that shit. You're fucking awesome. All those years you we're looking up to me and I was a sack of shit. All the shit I did to you...and look how great you turned out despite that!"

You felt the edge of your mouth twitch up into a slight smile. "You really think so?"

"Hell yeah."

You leaned forward and folded your hands together. "You're real different now, Bro."

He nodded slowly. "I've had a lot of time to think. I'd like to say I'm some kinda fucking "changed man" but that ain't for me to say."

You say back and shrugged. "I dunno man. I'm still not really captain of the Bro Strider Fan Club anymore but if I walked by the door to a meeting, I might hang around and listen for a bit."

Bro smiled, "That's progress, lil man."

"Anyway," you said, "you've got your shades now and ive got some 'god of the new world' shit to do. Fly around. Ding dong ditch civilians. That kinds shit. So I guess…"

"You'll see me later?"

You shrugged, "Yeah. I'll see ya later."

Bro gathered his things and you followed him out of your room. You plopped down on the couch as he opened the door. "Later."

You clicked on the tv, "Later, Bro, love ya."

Bro's face cracked into a big smile and you didn't even register what you had said. He left without another word.

Life is pretty boring when everyone you knew died in the apocalypse. You laid on your hospital bed. The mail lady entered with some breakfast. You thanked her and nibble at it. You looked outside your open window at the unfamiliar landscape.

Man were you bored.

You knew who you wanted to go see but you didn't want to bother him while he was busy being a god and stuff. You wanted the lady wrapped in gray cloth gathering up some garbage from your room, her wings sort of slowly flapping behind her the way a cats tail does when its content. You had to do something to repay her for saving you.

She had relayed the story back to you that had happened while you were knocked the fuck out. She said she had carried you through into this new world and brought you here and you had almost immidiately recovered. She made it sound like a miracle of the game but you knew she had worked hard to patch you up. You felt your hands over your chest where the stitches had been. There was a scar and the skin beneath it felt funny. It kind of tickled sometimes when you traced your fingers over it.

You asked her again to repeat who had made it through. That Dad guy had another version of himself who had made it but you doubted that one would recognize you. That druken Lalonde you used to see in the chat rooms hadn't made it either. She told you that there was a different version of you here too. Well, she had explained, not really - but kind of? - it was complicated. You figured you could find your way over to Dave's neighbor hood and walk around and perhaps meet some of the others, maybe get a better idea of what the kid, scratch that, _man_ was like now.

You jokingly asked the dog-bird-mail carrier why she hadn't brought your truck with her but she didn't understand. She began explaining the dynamics of how she would have had to fit the truck through the doorway after you explained what a truck was. She told her to get the stick out of her ass and she almost smiled before you asked her for a ride.

She was significantly stronger than Dave and could just hold you in front of her as she flew. She didn't need directions either as she dropped you off on Dave's doorstep. You gave her a salute as she flew off. Guess you would need to find your own way home.

You knocked on the door, just to see, expecting no answer. To your surprise you were met with a very familar answer: "What ever you're selling we fucking are not interested!"

The door opened to reveal a boy a bit smaller than Dave with messy black hair and gray skin. He guessed this was one of the trolls he had learned about.

"Who the fuck are you?" The boy basically screamed at you.

"Dave here?"

The boy stared him down, "That's a fucking shit answer. Nice to meet you Mr. Dave Here."

You rolled your eyes. "I'm new around here. Bro. Now where's Dave?"

"Out."

"Where?"

"A place."

"For fucks sake," you hissed under your breath. You stared at him in silence for a hit before he abruptly slammed the door in your face. You sighed and turned around and started down the street. They all looked so different from each other, not at all like the stacks of apartments you were used to. Some looked straight out of a scifi movie.

Eventually you stumbled upon what looked exactly like your apartment building. The bottom floors looked like they had been nearly melted away. You had no idea how somehow got from the bottom to the top without stairs or even floors. You remembered how Dave had flown and wondered if whoever lived her could do that as well.

You were thankful you had your clothes back by now as you gripped one of the support beams for the frame of the apartment and began to climb. It wasn't hard for someone like you to scale the building in just a few minutes, however you did have to take a break when you pulled on your bad shoulder.

you made it to the first actual floor and found the door. You knocked and were answered but no one was in the doorway. You looked down to see some kind of robot bunny. It almost felt nostalgic somehow but also like the way you feel after deja'vu. It stepped back and called out that there was a visitor. You stepped in and were instructed to remove your shoes. Okay, weird. You stood awkwardly until a boy appeared from a hallway. He stared at you and you stared back.

You had heard at one point that if you meet your double, it will kill you. Something about the guy's My Little Pony wristband said you should be able to hold your own against him. "You are-" the boy started slowly.

You had this urge to tell him you were him from the future here to warn him but you decided against it. "Dave's bro."

"I thought you died?"

You shook your head. " I got pretty close but I made it. I thought I'd come see how alt me was doing."

Dirk shrugged, "Watching anime."

You raised an eyebrow. "Anime? Why aren't you out like, fuck I don't know, cutting trees in half with a sword or riding a skateboard or literally goddamned anything else?"

Dirk shrugged again, "I mean, I'm working on a new bot too. I'm not you."

You nodded. That made sense. You had been told it was complicated, but that's hard to remember when your talking to yourself from ten years ago.

"I'm gonna cut tonthe chase," you replied. "How do I fix shit with Dave? Surely you know what happened. Fuckers probably told everyone. Y'all hate me now, just like him. But I wanna fix it."

Dirk nodded as he sat on his couch. "Sit down." You obeyed him and it was weird how similar your posture was. You mirrored eachother in almost every way. "Now tell me what you did."

You sighed, "Dude, I know you know already." He shook his head and told you to continue. "I fought him, and hurt him, and made him distrust me and-"

"Nah, not like that. I mean theres one word you can use to describe what you did."

You thought for a moment. "I hurt him."He shook his head again. "Fuck I don't kno-"

"Abused, man. Thats the word im looking for."

You took a deep breath and looked down at your hands. "Yeah, I mean, I guess I did…"

"I'm not helping you til you admit that."

"Alright, fine, it was abuse. I abused Dave. It was child abuse, I was physical and neglectful, I'm a fuck up and I should've let someone who knew what they were doing take care of him."

Dirk nodded, "How do you feel about what you did?"

"Fucking bad, what kinda question is that? It eats at me every fucking day. I feel like shit for what I did to him." You hung your head and folded your hands on the back of your neck.

"How do you think Dave feels about you?"

"He hates me. He completely hates me. He'll never fully forgive me but he doesn't understand what I was goin' through when I-"

"Stop. Don't make yourself excuses."

You sighed and regained your train of thought. "Right. That doesn't matter. I hurt Dave, I abused him, and I feel bad for it."

"Your done."

"What?"

"Your done. Now just leave him alone. Let him heal and stay out of his life."

"Fucking what? No. I want him back. I'm changed."

"You can't force him to like you again."

"I ain't forcing shit! I'm just letting him know what's up. If he says he can't forgive me I'll leave him alone."

Dirk shook his head. " Nah, listen, you've got the upper hand. However he feels he's gonna forgive you cuz your above him. Your his bro, you raised him. Unless you can even the playing field with him, your relationship is always gonna be fucked up. Once you hurt someone like that...you should just...leave them alone…" Dirk trailed off and you looked over at him.

"What's your last name, kid?"

He looked up at you, "Same as yours."

"Right. Strider."

Dirk shrugged. "So?"

You smiled and shook your head as you stood up. "Striders dont give up. We dont back down or take no for a fucking answer. We give 110% all the time until qe get what we want. And I want my bro back and I'm gonna get him. I don't know what the fuck you're all hung up on but I suggest you take what I say to heart, kid."

You turned around and left his apartment. Dirk watched you go and you heard him say something under his breath. Something along the lines of: "This can't end well."

You laid on your couch suffering through a terrible troll romcom but it was better than whatever Nick Cage movie John had going in his room. Karkat was on the other couch and you almost thought he could be crying. You got up and retrieved sandwich supplies from the fridge. You began to assemble something to eat when there was a knock on the door.

You answered it, ready to send away any sales people. Why were there so many of those in this new universe, anyway?

Instead you found your Bro.

"Dave."

"...Bro?"

He took a step instead and you thought you heard Karkat growl almost. Bro took your hand and tugged you away from the living room onto your porch. "Dave, I'm sorry to be so abrupt but. I need to know Will you ever be able to forgive me? If you can't I'll leave you alone but if there's even a chance then I will do anything to-"

You smiled, "I think I might. I mean, I want to. Ive been pissed off for so long at you. I need to, for myself. And...all my friends say I'm stupid for this...but I want give you another chance."

Bro's mouth hung agape. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." You held out your fist for him and he slowly started to move his towards yours. At the last second, you flattened your hand against his fist. "Turkey, motherfucker!"


	5. Chapter 5

No one really understood why you did that. Bro had done some terrible things. However, you truly felt something different about him. They say a near death experience changes people and you wanted to believe that was true. You had come pretty close to it yourself and you knew you different now.

You wanted to believe things could be okay again and as you watched Bro cooking you breakfast, it felt like a real possibility. His back was to you and you could see the muscles in his back ripple as he scraped at the pan. You could smell something burning.

Bro turned to face you with a big smile as he tilted the pan over your plate. The pancake didn't budge. He pushed and scraped at it with the spatula til you had a pile of crumbled pancake bits, half burnt have underdone.

He looked upset but you smiled. As you poured syrup on the pile with one hand and caught a box of apple juice with your other, you felt nostalgic. You scooped up a bite and even though you hadn't eaten Bro's less than mediocre cooking in years, it tasted like home. You nudged at the chair next to you and he took a seat before picking his fingers into your food for a bite. You grumbled and swatted him away.

It was like nothing had ever happened.

Until he gave you a joking push and your guard was suddenly up, ready for his next punch. He watched you go rigged and his smiled fell. You looked afraid and he could tell.

He pulled his hands back and stared at you. You slowly settled down and felt so silly. "S-sorry…" You stuttered.

"No, I shouldn't have-" Bro took a breath, "It'll take a while...for your body to get used to me again."

Something about his phrasing brought heat to your face. You quickly shoved another fork full of pancake mush into your mouth.

You realized you hadn't learned much of Bro's personality since you spent your last few years together avoiding him. You were excited to see more of him emerging. He definitely reminded you Dirk, but different. It was almost like you could see some of Rose in him as well.

He's cool and aloof, but at the same time you could feel something softer in him. He tried to act like he was still some kinda father figure but you didn't see him that way anymore. You hadn't thought of him like that since you were little. Even the thought of him being your bro didn't surpass the way John and Karkat were also your bros.

Nevertheless, he tried to keep up this charade. He made you breakfast and for some reason had started calling you a lot of pet names. He'd let you beat him in certain video games (not Tony Hawk, that high score was his crowning achievement) and if he frightened you he gave you a free swing. You usually passed on those. You didn't want to hurt him. You didn't like to hurt people without a good reason. And if you did that, it would mean you were still holding something against him.

Deep down you knew you always would retain a little fear of him. But he was working so hard and this wasn't up to anyone else but you. Karkat had told you you were stupid. He had said Bro would just weasel himself back into your life then hurt you again. John had agreed and said that's what abusers do.

You had ignored them. Yes, Bro had abused you - but he wasn't an inherently abusive person. No one could convince you at this point that he was. Not while these terrible pancakes were waiting on you every morning and not while there were still neighbors houses that had yet to be covered in graffiti.

You knew he wouldn't be awake when you knocked on the door but you heard him drag himself up anyway to let you in. He wore his pjs (not the god ones because apparently those are dry clean only and he doesn't have time for that). His shades were a little lopsided and he only had one sock on.

"Rough night, lil man?"

Dave snickered and you entered the quiet house. His roommates were asleep thankfully and you dropped yourself onto his couch. You asked if he was hungry and offered to make some bacon and eggs. He shook his head but when you mentioned Bro Striders Famous ½ cooked pancakes he perked up. This kid had seriously the weirdest taste but, after all, that was your fault. He didn't know pancakes could be cooked any other way than half burnt half runny till he was at least 11.

You two ate the disgusting concoction before moving to the living room to watch the tube. You flicked through the channels and it was all reruns. You think it is anyway. Half the channels are human shows and half are what looks like trolls. There were a few that seemed to be new shows featuring both. You settled on some classic Seinfeld with the volume turned way down so you could narrate the show yourselves.

Your character seemed to be monologuing and you had turned into into a riveting story of a half man half skeleton. You got so lost in how hilarious you were you didn't notice Dave pass the fuck out.

When his character didn't get a voiceover you nudged him with your foot from the other side of the couch. He didn't stir.

You smiled as you looked down at him. It had been years since he had been this comfortable around you. He had let his guard down enough to fall asleep right in front of you. You smiled as you moved closer and picked him up slowly, trying not to wake him.

Your eyes were heavy as the light slowly filtered through your lashes. You couldn't feel your shades on your face and you felt the motion of being carried.

You remembered waking up early for breakfast with Bro then watching early morning sitcom reruns. You still weren't used to waking up as early as he liked to come over but it was the best time to avoid the dirty looks Karkat and John gave him.

You had a vague memory of "resting your eyes" for a moment during a commercial break. You guessed you had passed out and Bro was carrying you back to your room. You started to wiggle free of his arms but he was so warm. You tucked your face against his neck and through your half open eye you saw him smile.

"Dave?" he asked and you clenched your eyes shut. You could feel the rumble in his throat as he laughed. You felt heat spread across your face again.

Bro gently laid you on your bed, well, aside from bumping your head on the wall. You tried to ignore it and pretend to keep sleeping. As he started to move away you reached out for his hand. You don't know why, but you held him there.

"Dave?" he repeated and you tugged on him again. Being able to see Bro differently these past few days had been eye opening. Once you stopped idolizing him and assuming he was better than you, you understood him on a more personal, human level.

He had stopped being this idea and was a person. He had faults and weaknesses just like you. He had made mistakes and done so much to turn his life around. You looked up to him the same way you admired your other friends. And that's what Bro was now - a friend. Granted, a friend who kept trying to protect and parent you, but that's not how you viewed him. He was your equal now so there was nothing wrong with what you were about to do.

You tugged on his hand and your bright red eyes met the darkness of his shades. No words were exchanged as Bro leaned over you. You could feel his breath hot against your nose as he hovered a few inches away. You could feel him lean closer then pull back again. He was nervous. You thought it was cute.

You leaned up and connected your lips softly. You held yourself there for a few seconds before letting your head fall back to the pillow.

Bro's mouth was slightly agape and you could hear him breathing. You started to say something when he pushed your mouths back together and held your lip between his. His tongue smoothed over your lip and onto your teeth and it felt like your jaws had unhinged. He was breathing hard and your eyes were shut tight as your arms reached around him and found a place to rest.

Bro's hands had also found their way onto your upper body, supporting in keeping you off the bed. You held him so close to you until you felt the wetness slowly leave your mouth and it was replaced by panting and heavy breaths.


	6. Chapter 6

Last night almost felt like a blur.

The taste of Dave's lips against your own was incredible and the two of you had stayed together for a long time like that. You held one another and embraced in a way you had never even considered before. When he stopped calling you his brother you thought that meant your relationship had decreased. What it had become now, however, was more than you could comprehend.

After the kiss, he was slightly more awake but you told him to get some sleep anyway. He protested a bit but after another kiss he settled into his bed. You left his shades on the table beside him and slipped into the hallway where you were greeted by two tapping feet and a pair of folded arms.

Karkat stood on the left, his arms folded and one foot tapping. His eyes were narrowed and his teeth were grinding together. Beside him was John, a mirrored foot tapping and his hands on his hips. You wondered how long they had stood there and perfected their stances.

"Uh," you stammered and their glares hardened.

Karkat mocked your noise before putting a hand against the wall. It was clear you weren't going anywhere.

"I know Dave forgave you," John started, "but we don't trust you one bit. We were the ones he came to after you hurt him and now you think you can just show up and make it all better?"

"Well that ain't happening!" Karkat cut in and John nodded. "You're a piece of shit and you ain't allowed here. Leave Dave alone. If I had known you might make it through to this world, I would have-"

You took a deep breath, "You would've what? Ruined Dave's one shot at making amends and getting past this because of your own selfish ideas?"

John and Karkat exchanged glances.

"I know y'all don't understand it or want to believe it but I'm different. I ain't his dad, or his big brother, or fucking any of that shit. I'm just his friend. And he's giving me this chance and I ain't blowing it cuz y'all fuckers think you can manipulate me into being who I used to be."

"Huh? Manipul-"

"Yeah. I get it. You want me to hit you so you can tell Dave I'm still the same as before. But I fucking won't. I'll just stand here til you let me leave."

Karkat grimaced and he sprung towards you, his fist aiming right for your face. Too easy. You ducked to one side and he missed. You flash stepped beside John and gave him a quick smirk before waltzing right out the front door.

You awoke to shouting and a slammed door and quickly emerged from your room. "Bro!?" you shouted and found John sitting quietly on the couch and Karkat looking huffy and puffy beside the door. "What just…?"

Karkat shot daggers at you and John stuttered. "We just thought that if we scared him, and confronted him, he might-"

"What? Snap his fingers and admit he was lying the whole time? Look guys….I appreciate y'all care about me and shit but goddamn I'm an adult! I can make my own decisions! And Bro is one of 'em. He's my choice and my responsibility. So just...just leave us alone...we're happy. I'm finally happy."

John looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry…"

Karkat spoke and you moved your gaze to him. "Sorry? For fucking what? You forgive him all you fucking want but I ain't."

You shook your head and scoffed and pushed past him and out the door. Bro was standing right outside the door, almost like he had been waiting for you. You smiled as you approached him and almost magnetically your hand found his. He smiled down at you before his lips twitched. "This is weird, huh?"

You shrugged, "Who ever said Striders were normal?"

Bro rolled his eyes, "You've gotta stop believing all that shit about being a Strider I spewed when you were little."

You shook your head, "Nah man, most of it was true. Your Strider pep talks were probably the only positive thing I had growing up." You meant it to be encouraging but Bro just winced and looked down.

You held his hand in silence for a minute before speaking again. "But yeah. It is kind of weird. But...a good weird."

Bro snickered, "Who could take 'good' away from making out with my baby brother?"

"I ain't a baby."

Bro pushed his glasses down his nose so his eyes burrowed right into you. "You sure you ain't a baby?" He smiled as he lifted up your hand and gave it a kiss. You blushed and nodded.

He shrugged as he started to pull you away from the door. "I guess you're right. You made this world so it's up to you if this is weird here."

You smiled as you swung your hands and walked beside him. "I guess. In that case, this is probably cool. I was enjoying this place with John and Karkat...but it's fucking different with you." You eyed your hands and slowly noticed Bro doing the same. You were just walking down the street like this without a care in the world. No one had any right to stop you. You were happy with him.

"Bro…" he panted against your neck and you clamped your eyes shut. The heat was pooling in your lower body and your fingers were touching anything and everything they could reach on the boy.

You lifted up his shades so you could see the passion in his eyes but were met with something else. He was crying. His irises were clouded with fear and you put your hands on either side of his face.

"Dave? Dave, what's wrong?"

He continued to sob more audibly this time as you rubbed a small circle on his face with your thumb. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry…" you begged over and over before you opened your eyes and were met with silence.

You're eyes adjusted to darkness and you registered the faint breathing of the person beside you. You were cramped together on the hospital bed in your room. It was the middle of the day. You took a deep breath and wrapped an arm around Dave's sleeping body. He snuggled closer to you and you reached up to your own face to wipe away the tears.

You wondered if he was still so frightened of you. You wondered if you'd ever be able to do those kinds of intimate things with him in the first place. You slowly let out another breath as you kissed the back of his neck and held him against you. You didn't sleep.

Once you awoke, the first thing you did was give a sleepy kiss to the man behind you. His eyes were open and he was staring at the ceiling. "You're up?" You asked.

Bro snickered, "It's like 3 pm."

"Oh."

You smiled as you shifted around to bury your face into his neck. His smell was intoxicating. You felt him shiver as your nose brushed against his skin and you felt a hand under your chin. Bro lifted your face and gave you a light kiss. You breathed for a moment before he pulled you back in.

He was warm and gentle but the connection was stronger this time and you could tell he didn't want to let go. You felt his tongue run the length of your lower lip and you smiled into the kiss as you parted them.

You pulled away and he breathed into your face, hot and heavy. Your face was bright red. "Sleep well?" he asked and you nodded. "You know you snore?"

You snickered, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he replied as he pulled you closer. "Fuckin loud, too. You didn't always do that." You felt him bury his face in your hair and leave a delicate kiss on the top of your forehead.

You stretched your arms out and sat up. His arm stayed on you until you swung your legs off the bed and stood up. He made a sound of protest and asked where you were going. "I'm fuckin hungry," you replied and he smiled. You wandered into the kitchen with Bro close behind. The fridge was empty except a pack of beer of an unopened gallon of apple juice.

"Man, what do you even eat?"

Bro nodded his head towards the trash can where you could see an overflowing pile of chinese takeout containers. You nodded in understanding. It reminded you of the empty pizza boxes stacked in your own place. _Like father like son,_ you thought but shook the idea away. Bro wasn't your dad. He never had been.

And yet, cutting that familiar tie still felt wrong. No matter how many times you told him differently, he would always be your brother. He was your caretaker. He raised you, shitty as it may have been. That's something you can never just brush off so easily.

You were caught up in your own mind when you registered bro speaking to you. "Well?"

"Huh?"

He laughed. "What do you want me to order?"

You shrugged, "Whatever, dude."

"Aight." he pulled out his phone and began to place a call. You wanted to sit in the living room and watch movies like old times but it was empty. The whole place was completely void of furniture or anything that gave it any homey feelings.

You sat on the floor against the wall and watched Bro on the phone. Finally, he ended the call and walked towards you. He squatted down in front of you. "What's up?" he asked and you shrugged. He made a face and you shrugged again.

"I dunno man something just feels...off."

He sighed as he moved to sit beside you and wrung his hands together. He sat with his knees scrunched up, his arms dangling over them. "I get it, kid, I do. It's weird. I'm your bro and-"

"Nah," you interrupted, "that ain't what I mean. I mean...it's weird to like...pretend you aren't my bro? You are and like...that's okay? I mean...I don't care. It doesn't bother me." He grew silent for a minute and wouldn't look at you. "Does it bother you?"

"No... No...just...I don't know, Dave. It may not be weird now, but like how are you gonna feel when we-"

"Fuck?"

"I-yeah…"

You shrugged again and your lips pulled up into a smile. His face was growing red. "Is that what's on your mind, Bro?" He shook his head and started to stammer. "I'm telling you. I don't fucking care. At all." He continued to try and explain it away, to try to make it as less weird as he could possibly manage. When he wasn't looking, you leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek. He stopped and looked at you. "Quit beatin' yourself up. There's like 8 thousand reasons I shouldn't fucking be here right now but I am. You ever asked yourself why?"

"Every goddamned day," was his answer.

"Cuz I love you. You're my Bro...and we're moving past that shit. Right now."

Bro looked at you confused as you leaned closer and gave him another kiss on the cheek, then on the lips. You crawled closer to him until your lips were locked and your arms around his neck. Your chests were flushed together as you leaned against him, parting his knees with your body. His arms were confused at first. Wasn't he a sex-expert or something? What in the hell was he doing? Eventually they found their way to your back. His nailed scraped against your spine. One hand found the back of your neck.

You placed your hands on his shoulders as you pushed yourself away from him for a moment to catch your breath. You kept your eyes locked together as you breathed heavily in unison before your mouths crashed back together in desperation.


	7. Chapter 7

You felt the need in his kiss as he clung to you with everything he had. His lips against yours were intoxicating. You gathered him in your arms and stood up, tired of being on the floor. He seemed confused but you gave him a kiss to calm him down.

You carried the smaller boy down the hall and back into your bedroom. You pressed your lips against his neck as you laid him down on your bed. Your large hands pinned him to the mattress as you maneuvered yourself on top of him. He was breathing hard as you bit down on his skin and his fingers tangled in your hair, knocking your hat off.

You slid your hands under his shirt, feeling his hot skin over his ribs and fingering at his hardened nipples. He pushed his hips upward against you and ground against your thigh. You pressed your leg roughly against him, rubbing on his throbbing erection for a moment before adjusting your position so your own member was against his.

You could feel the heat pooling in his crotch and his pants becoming tighter so you took it upon yourself to help him out of them. Your mouth left his neck as you slithered down his body to grip the zipper in your teeth. He leaned up on his elbows to watch you remove his pants and he bit his lip when you palmed at him through his boxers.

You reached your hand under the fabric and pulled him out, wrapping your long fingers around his length. You gave him a couple strokes before sliding it into your mouth. Your tongue danced on the tip before you began bobbing your head, allowing him to fall almost completely out of your mouth before taking him right back in. His head fell back as he let out a loud moan of your name but you didn't miss a beat.

He was writhing in pleasure when you finally took a breather. You wiped the mixture of pre-cum and saliva on the back of your gloved hand and you kissed up his now bare chest. You wondered when he had removed his shirt. You hesitated with your teeth against his neck for a moment before connecting your lips to his. You could feel the desperation in his kiss and smirked into it as you pushed him back down and began to undo your belt.

Dave wiggled around beneath you until he had flipped over onto his stomach. You moved off of him as you pulled your pants down and he assumed the doggy position. You licked your lips. "Eager?" You asked, teasingly as you gave him a smack on his ass.

"Shut up," he called over his shoulder and you could hear the embarrassment in his voice.

"You ever done this before, lil man?" You asked before shoving two fingers into your mouth. If you were in your real apartment on normal Earth you would have actual lube for this kind of situation but you'd have to make due with what you had.

Dave mumbled something and you asked for clarification. "Not...all the way." He replied and you smiled as you pulled the wet fingers from your mouth. You drug them over his entrance and loved the way he shivered as you did so. You felt him tense up as you began to push one finger inside him. You reached around with your other hand to give his erection some attention and it distracted him from the feeling in his ass long enough to push all the way in. You stroked his dick with one hand as you pushed a second finger deep into his hole.

Dave was breathing hard and you could feel his arms shaking as he held himself up on his knees. You moved your fingers around inside of him, stretching him and trying to get the entrance as slick as you could. You began to rub your dick against his asscheeks as your hand pumped up and down his member. "Dave…" you breathed out, hot and heavy.

"I-I'm ready…" he answered as he looked over his shoulder at you. His shades were lopsided and fogged up, his hair was a mess as well. God, you wanted to wreck him. You nodded as you slid your fingers out of him and wiped them on the bed sheets. You moved both your hands to grip his hips as you began to push your cock inside him.

His first moan was closer to a scream as he adjusted to your size and girth. You entered him slowly, pushing further and further inside of him whenever he seemed to have gotten comfortable again. Once you were completely inside of him, you leaned down to give him a kiss on the back of the neck. "Dave…" you whispered against his back, his sweat rubbing off onto your face and his smell engulfing you, everything around you was nothing but him and you had never been so content.

"Bro…" he whispered back as you felt his arms shaking again for a moment before he collapsed beneath you.

"Dave?" You asked in a panic but he just laughed.

"I'm fuckin weak," he said jokingly and you smiled for a moment before slowly pulling out of him. His voice quickly turned to that of pleasure as he moaned and bit at the pillow under his face. You pushed back inside him slowly again and loved the way his face contorted as you did so. You began this process of pulling out and pushing back in, slowly increasing in speed each time, sometimes drastically slowing down just to keep Dave on his toes.

Your hands gripped his hips, holding his ass up in the air as the rest of him melted into the mattress. You continued pounding into him, over and over as he became noisier and louder with every thrust. Sometimes he'd try to tell you what he wanted. He would ask for you to slow down or go in harder and sometimes you'd listen, but other times you'd do the exact opposite just drive him crazy. You noticed his moans were starting to become more erratic and uncontrolled and there was a pressure building inside your cock as well.

"D-Dave-" you started to warn him as you gripped his hair.

"Me…too...Bro…." He panted out each word below you mere seconds before you felt him clench tighter around you. He let out another loud moan and it was enough to send you over the edge as well. You quickly pulled out of him and flipped him over. His face was red and his shades were bent by this point. You could see the mess he had made on himself as you gripped your own length, pumping yourself quickly a few times before shooting your load onto his chest, some of it managing to reach up to his face.

You double over on top of him, your own cum squishing between the two of you as you breathed into the crane of his neck. "Dave…" you said again. It seemed to be the only word you could process tonight.

"Bro…" he said, seemingly mirroring your own issue.

As you laid on top of him, breathing heavily and taking in the smell of his sweat and the sound of his rapid heartbeat, you heard a knock at the door.

"Oh yeah…food."


End file.
